Need Suggestions for 6th Grade Reading

Parent Cafe
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<p>I’m in my 5th year of volunteering as a reading buddy. I’ve had the same reading pal since she was in 2nd grade and I’ve never had any challenge in picking out books for her for Christmas, her birthday, etc. However, she has moved to middle school and her tastes are very different from those of my kids at that age. She loves things with vampires, monsters, etc. I’m hoping some of you can suggest some relatively new titles of books appropriate for a 12 year old other than Goosebumps which she checks out of the school library. Mysteries would likely be well received as well. </p>

2

<p>Here goes:</p>

<p>Harry Potter (an obvious choice?)
The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Percy Jackson series
The Lightning Thief series
The Westing Game
The Maximum Ride series
The Alex Rider series
The Eragon series
The Artemis Fowl series</p>

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<p>Fablehaven series</p>

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<p>My suggestions will be a bit out of date, but they are the same timeframe as those suggested by kiddie. My boys read all of the ones kiddie suggested, although I don’t recognize Westing Game. </p>

<p>Scott Westerfeld’s series—Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras.</p>

<p>What about the Hunger Game series?</p>

<p>I think Eoin Colfer wrote books other than the Artemis Fowl series, but I cannot recall the names.</p>

5

<p>Wren to the Rescue trilogy by Sherwood Smith.
<a href=“http://novselect.ebscohost.com/Display/TreeNodeContent?format=html&profile=s7762005.main.novsel2&password=dGJyMOPY8U2vpgAA&ui=415039&schema=http:&source=121601&version=2.1&print=true”>http://novselect.ebscohost.com/Display/TreeNodeContent?format=html&profile=s7762005.main.novsel2&password=dGJyMOPY8U2vpgAA&ui=415039&schema=http:&source=121601&version=2.1&print=true&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And my favorite
Juniper, Wise Child and Colman, by Monica Furlong.
<a href=“http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/540489.Wise_Child”>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/540489.Wise_Child&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For stand alone books,
Quest for a Maid, by Frances Mary Hendry.
<a href=“http://books.google.com/books/about/Quest_for_a_Maid.html?id=Vh3hAAAAMAAJ”>http://books.google.com/books/about/Quest_for_a_Maid.html?id=Vh3hAAAAMAAJ&lt;/a&gt;
And A girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter.
None are newly written however- Limberlost was published in 1909.
<a href=“http://books.google.com/books/about/Quest_for_a_Maid.html?id=Vh3hAAAAMAAJ”>http://books.google.com/books/about/Quest_for_a_Maid.html?id=Vh3hAAAAMAAJ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>But wonderful books and very empowering especially for girls.</p>

<p>If you want to get her more of a horror book,
there’s Coraline by Neil Gaiman, or the Thief of Always by Clive Barker.
Although neither of those are new either.
<a href=“http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32638.The_Thief_of_Always”>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32638.The_Thief_of_Always&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions. I’ll do some investigating. Some of these may be a little advanced for my pal. She is an at-risk student and there is very little reading going on outside of school, so what many of our kids read as 6th graders may be too advanced for her. She tends to check books out from the school library, get halfway through them in 2 weeks, and then return them because they are evidently only allowed 1 renewal and have to return in 2 weeks.</p>

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<p>The Spiderwick Chronicles books are relatively short and should be readable by her.</p>

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<p>at a lower reading level - A Series of Unfortunate Events and Eva Ibbotson’s witch books</p>

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<p>How about Shel Silverstein poetry? “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and the “Light in the Attic”. Easy, short and some very funny poetry that has very broad age appeal.</p>

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<p>What about Narnia series, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Indian in the Cupboard was lively series too. </p>

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<p>Maybe the Animorphs series? They are older, but fun and not too difficult to read. I kind of anti recommend the Eragon books, very derivative, and not very well written. Impressive for a teen, but really just not very good. By the end, I just didn’t feel the fantasy world he’d created held together. </p>

<p>You might look into Garth Nix - the Sabriel series is probably at too difficult a reading level, but the Seventh Tower series would be an easier read. The Keys to the Kingdom is aimed slightly younger as well.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ve ordered a few of your recommendations for my pal’s December birthday & Christmas.</p>

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<p>Has she read the birthday series by Wendy Mass?</p>

<p>Covers 11 to 13 </p>